


I Followed The Ranger One Night

by Vojjin



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, I want Throndir to be happy but it's not gonna happen is it?, Not Even a Little Bit Canon, Undefined Future, Way out of whack with any timeline, not canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-17 00:51:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11264586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vojjin/pseuds/Vojjin
Summary: @realsleepyfinn pointed out that Throndir will out-live everybody and suddenly this was a google doc I was writing.





	I Followed The Ranger One Night

**Author's Note:**

> Blame @realsleepyfinn, but don't really, they seem nice.

The Ranger climbs the lonely hill as the sun sets behind it. He enters the gathering of trees at its summit and doesn’t come back out for hours. He’s been doing this for as long as I can remember but not once has he told me what he does up there. Mom says I should just leave it alone, that it’s impolite to pry and that he’s earned a few secrets anyway. 

I don’t like it.

Throndir has the most beautiful smile but when he returns from up there it’s twisted into a grimace of sadness. Why does he keep going back to something that hurts him?  
I need to figure it out, if I do then I can help him. I can make sure his smile doesn’t fade again, I can be there to tell him it’s alright.  
Pretending to be asleep is easy, once mom has checked on me and closed the door I sneak out through the window. I see his lantern immediately, a speck of light rising above a sea of darkness. The dark terrifies me but this is too important to let go of, I set off running. There’s a few close calls but I manage not to slip and fall as I ascend the hill and it’s wet grass. I can’t use the trail, Throndir would see my tracks on his way back and know it was me instantly, my feet are cold and wet by the time I reach the top but I can just make out the light in between the trees. It’s difficult to stay silent in the dark but I see no change in Throndir’s movements, he hasn’t heard me. I hide under some bushes when stops walking. He’s in a small clearing with a stone in the center, the light of his lantern doesn’t reveal anything special about the stone but Throndir looks at it as if he’s about to start crying. He bends down and puts his hand on it, it’s trembling and I want to run into his arms and hug him tight, tell him he doesn’t have to be here, that he doesn’t have to be sad. 

When he speaks it’s with a voice I’ve never heard before. It’s like a thin, miserable copy of the voice I grew up with. 

“Hey buddy, I miss you, still. I know I said I wouldn’t cry this time but… next time, next time I promise.”

He sits down and lights his pipe, he once told me he got it from a dear friend. A few puffs later and he stops trembling. 

“Anyway, I figured you’d be tired of listening to me yapping away so I brought someone with me this time.”

He turns his head and looks directly at me, there is no anger in his face, not even that dreaded look of disappointment in his eyes. I stand and brush myself off.

“How long did you know?”

“As soon as you started climbing the hill.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“No. Come over here, I want you to meet someone.”

He reaches out his hand and I walk towards him slowly, as I lay my hand in his I can feel his cold skin, he’s told me it’s cold because he’s a snow elf and I think that’s the reason they’re called that.  
With a soft motion he puts my hand on the stone and looks at me with a smile.

“Nadia, meet Kodiak”

**Author's Note:**

> I did it! I did my first post! Now I'm gonna go cry for a few hours!


End file.
